After several near misses in only a short period of time, local parent Wayne Ernst took up the fight for safer school speed zones along Wembley Road.

Unsure how to proceed with his campaign for a safer pedestrian passage across Wembley Road, Mr Ernst, a graduate of a special school himself, sat down with his local MP Jim Chalmers.

“I went in to see Jim and he understood straight away that I needed some help to get started. My reading and writing isn’t that good but Jim talked me through a few points and made a few suggestions and I managed to put together a pretty good letter to the Minister for Main Roads.”

Dr Chalmers recalls Mr Ernst’s request for assistance: “I was impressed by Wayne’s dedication to children of Logan City Special School and surrounding Woodridge State High and Woodridge State School.”

“Wembley Road is one of the busiest in the local area and my discussions with the Principals of all three schools showed student safety on such a busy road was an ongoing concern.”

“I was happy to support his campaign for a reduction in the speed limit.”

With his letter sent to the Minister for Main Roads, Mr Ernst proceeded to lobby State MP Desley Scott and local councillors on the need for a 40km/h zone along Wembley Road at school times. All agreed with his simple proposal of reducing the speed limit from 60km/h to 40km/h.

“Yes, we have lollipop people who do a great job of trying to keep our kids safe while crossing the busy road”, said Mr Ernst, “but let’s face it – all that stands between them and a car travelling at 60 km/h is a plastic sign on a stick.”

“Making Wembley Road a 40km/h zone made sense – I just had to get the bureaucrats to see it that way”.

The Minister for Main Roads has agreed to recommend the change of speed zones to the Logan Traffic Advisory Committee who will have the final say on the changes.

Jim said, “This is a great win and shows one person can make a big difference to our community. The Logan Traffic Advisory Board needs to see the recommendation for what it is - a good common sense solution to a road safety issue”.